Chance meetings and life changing moments

On 15th June 2011 I hosted the first ever Research & Hope event. When I realised I had the opportunity to host a talk by Professor Vincent Walsh on ‘Brain stimulation and stroke’ I was thrilled … and then I panicked.

I have attended and spoken at numerous events but I had no idea how to organise one. I am very grateful, therefore, that Care Alliance came to my rescue. They agreed to co-host the event ...

My first encounter with SEI: seeing Ireland in a new light

Social Entrepreneurs Ireland (SEI) runs an extraordinary competition to win funding and support over two years. I started to write this blog when I had reached the final 18 of the competition in 2011 and before I knew whether I would be in the last eight who are all guaranteed a prize. I began to write the day before I submitted my final documents; I chose that ...

Learning to Care: The Carers’ Sanctuary Magazine

I seem to have lived many different lives. I have studied and worked in various countries. I was a university student, part- or full-time, for 12 years; I have had several careers, from lecturer to business consultant; I have been a girlfriend, a partner, a wife and a mother. As I moved through these different phases of my life, I simply adapted. I seemed to know how to adjust to each new situation, more ...

A moral dilemma

I launched the Research & Hope website in February 2011. It is now three years later and I am working to improve and update the website. From the beginning I have had the same moral dilemma as I now face: do I hold fast to my ethical principles, or earn enough money to speed up the research and help more people?

My choice so far has been to stay with my principles and do without the ...

From solitude to support: reaching for the impossible … again

For the first five years after Steve’s stroke I spent many waking hours sitting alone in front of my computer. Every time I sat down I knew that my research could help Steve but I didn’t know if anyone else would be interested in the website I was creating. So many elements were needed to create Research & Hope, from hours of web design, infinite reading lists and endless searching for ...

Metaphysics and the Media

In February 2011 I launched the Research & Hope website http://www.researchandhope.com/ the following year I founded Neruo Hero http://www.neurohero.com/. Both events were accompanied by a great deal of interest from the media. I have always hidden from cameras; as a consequence, there are very few family photos that include me. Now I find myself frequently posing for the press and speaking on the radio.

Learning from the master: Miyamaoto Musashi

I have always been a perfectionist. For many years, it was a constant struggle to be content with anything, from my academic writings to my skill as a pool player. However, many years of karate have taught me that perfection is infinitely beyond my grasp.

Just eight years after I began practicing karate I was sitting with a group of senior students as they told their epic tales of battles fought, injuries sustained and the weird and ...

Stroke,snow and stoicism

When I thought about launching my first project the Research & Hope website I envisaged all kinds of potential obstacles. Could I complete the research? Would anyone be interested? Would the medical establishment recognise my work? As it turned out, the answers were all positive. I was able to research 24 treatments for stroke that might be helpful in addition to the standard medical approach. The feedback was far better than I could have imagined and I am ...

Acts of kindness: why I want to ‘pay it forward’

One of the big questions in the philosophy of religion is this: ‘If the Almighty is all good, then why is there evil in the world?’ There are many possible answers, but one view states that terrible situations produce good deeds and actions. I have debated this many times over the years but my experiences since June 2006 have enabled me to better understand this answer. I have ...

In January of 2010, as I trawled through the Internet, I came across a research paper on a drug called L-dopa. It was already a well-known treatment for Parkinson’s disease but it was now being tested for stroke. The researchers’ preliminary results looked encouraging, so I printed out the paper and brought it to one of Steve’s doctors.

We have been blessed with the most wonderful doctors over the years, from our GP to ...